The Columbus Dispatch
A Catholic priest who once served in the Columbus diocese has been charged with child abuse in Montgomery County, Maryland.
The Rev. Aaron Joseph “AJ” Cote is accused of sexually abusing 14-year-old Brandon Rains while Cote served as youth minister at a Catholic church in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He faces as many as 15 years in prison.
The Dispatch generally does not publish names of sexual abuse victims, but Rains has chosen to speak publicly.
Cote was pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Somerset from 1987 to 1989.
Rains, now 21, reached a $1.2 million settlement with Cote’s Dominican order in August.
Cote turned himself into the Montgomery County Sheriff last night, said Jeff Anderson, Rains’ attorney.
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